Did people and dinosaurs live at the same time?
No! After the dinosaurs died out, nearly 65 million years passed before people appeared on Earth. However, small mammals (including shrew-sized primates) were alive at the time of the dinosaurs. Many scientists who study dinosaurs (vertebrate paleontologists) now think that birds are direct descendants of one line of carnivorous dinosaurs, and some consider that they in fact represent modern living dinosaurs. This theory remains under discussion and shows that there is still much we don't know about dinosaurs.
Related Content
Where did dinosaurs live?
Why did some dinosaurs grow so big?
When did dinosaurs become extinct?
What was Pangea?
Were dinosaurs warm-blooded or cold-blooded?
Did all the dinosaurs live together, and at the same time?
Can USGS photos of fossils be downloaded or viewed online?
Divisions of geologic time (Bookmark)
DescriptionThis bookmark presents information that is widely sought by educators and students. This bookmark is adapted from the more detailed U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2018–3054, “Divisions of Geologic Time,” prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Names Committee in cooperation with the Association of American State Geologists....
The geology and paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada
On December 19, 2014, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, located in the Las Vegas Valley of southern Nevada, was established by Congress as the 405th unit of the National Park Service to “conserve, protect, interpret, and enhance for the benefit of present and future generations the unique and nationally important paleontological,...
Springer, Kathleen B.; Pigati, Jeffrey S.; Scott, Eric
Why Study Paleoclimate?
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers are at the forefront of paleoclimate research, the study of past climates. With their unique skills and perspective, only geologists have the tools necessary to delve into the distant past (long before instrumental records were collected) in order to better understand global environmental conditions that...
Robinson, Marci; Dowsett, Harry
The Geologic Time Spiral - A Path to the Past
The Earth is very old - 4.5 billion years or more according to scientific estimates. Most of the evidence for an ancient Earth is contained in the rocks that form the Earth's crust. The rock layers themselves - like pages in a long and complicated history - record the events of the past, and buried within them are the remains of life - the plants...
Graham, Joseph; Newman, William; Stacy, John
Divisions of Geologic Time—Major Chronostratigraphic and Geochronologic Units
Effective communication in the geosciences requires consistent uses of stratigraphic nomenclature, especially divisions of geologic time. A geologic time scale is composed of standard stratigraphic divisions based on rock sequences and calibrated in years. Over the years, the development of new dating methods and refinement of previous ones have...
A tapestry of time and terrain
Vigil, J.F.; Pike, R.J.; Howell, D.G. Dinosaurs, facts and fiction
Litwin, Ronald J.; Weems, Robert E.; Holtz, Thomas R. Geologic age: using radioactive decay to determine geologic age
At the close of the 18th century, the haze of fantasy and mysticism that tended to obscure the true nature of the Earth was being swept away. Careful studies by scientists showed that rocks had diverse origins. Some rock layers, containing clearly identifiable fossil remains of fish and other forms of aquatic animal and plant life, originally...
Mud fossils
At the close of the 18th century, the haze of fantasy and mysticism that tended to obscure the true nature of the Earth was being swept away. Careful studies by scientists showed that rocks had diverse origins. Some rock layers, containing clearly identifiable fossil remains of fish and other forms of aquatic animal and plant life, originally...
Chicxulub impact event; computer animations and paper models
Alpha, T.R.; Galloway, John P.; Starratt, S.W.
Crinoids; a computer animation and paper model
Alpha, Tau Rho; Stout, Dorothy L.; Starratt, Scott W. Geologic time
Newman, William L.
EarthWord – Tertiary
The Tertiary is a system of rocks, above the Cretaceous and below the Quaternary, that defines the Tertiary Period of geologic time. T
"Mutant" Fossils Reveal Toxic Metals May Have Contributed to World’s Largest Extinctions
Toxic metals such as iron, lead and arsenic may have helped cause mass extinctions in the world’s oceans millions of years ago, according to recent research from the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Center for Scientific Research, France; and Ghent University, Belgium.
Mammoths Reached the California Channel Islands Much Earlier Than Previously Thought
Recently, U.S. Geological Survey researchers and partners working in California’s Channel Islands National Park discovered mammoth remains in uplifted marine deposits that date to about 80,000 years ago, confirming a long-held but never proven hypothesis that mammoths may have been on the Channel Islands long before the last glacial period 25,000 to 12,000 years ago.
New Volume Documents the Science at the Legendary Snowmastodon Fossil Site in Colorado
Four years ago, a bulldozer operator turned over some bones during construction at Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass Village, Colorado. Scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science were called to the scene and confirmed the bones were those of a juvenile Columbian mammoth, setting off a frenzy of excavation, scientific analysis, and international media attention.
Snowmass Fossil Site Provides Opportunity to Study Past Vegetation and Climate in Colorado
An Ice Age fossil site recently discovered in Snowmass Village, Colo., is providing a trio of U.S. Geological Survey scientists with a laboratory to study more than 100,000 years of vegetation and climate records in Colorado.
Footprint damage to biocrusts
Many human activities can be unintentionally harmful to biological crusts. The biocrusts are no match for the compressional stress caused by footprints of livestock or people or tracks from vehicles.
Arid and semiarid ecosystems are expected to experience significant changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, which may affect soil organisms in ways that
...
Juvenile Mammoth Bones in Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK)
Bones of a juvenile mammoth spilling out of the ground in Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK). USGS scientists are currently investigating geologic deposits exposed throughout TUSK to determine how the springs and marshes that attracted the animals responded to climate change in the past.
Footprints in Ash from 1790 Kilauea Volcano Eruption
Footprints made in muddy ash during Kilauea's 1790 eruption are reminders that people experienced the largest explosive eruption in Hawai‘i in 1,000 years. More than 80, and possibly several hundred, people were killed by the eruption soon after the footprints were made.
Earth History of the National Capital Region – Volcanoes, Earthquakes & Dinosaurs… Oh My!
Reston, Virginia, was founded 47 years ago & Europeans first settled in the National Capital region 403 years ago. This human footprint can't compare to the dynamic Earth history of this region, extending back as early as 1,180 million years ago and continuing today. For over 120 years, USGS has studied and mapped the region revealing a rich and diverse geologic past.
Fossil Discovery Makes History: Studying a Prehistoric Climate and Ecosystem in Colorado
A trio of USGS scientists has been involved in the excavation and study of a major animal and plant fossil discovery in Snowmass Village, Colo., which provides more than 100,000 years of vegetation and climate records for the area. This recent find includes Columbian mammoths, mastodons, extinct bison, Ice Age deer, and a 9-foot ground sloth, and the USGS team is studying
Fossil Fish (Jiang Hanichthys)
Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived from the Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Fossil Fish (Jiang Hanichthys)
Fossilized Jiang Hanichthys, an extinct fish that lived fromthe Cretaceaous to 100 million years ago. Item originally from Hubai Province, China.
Trilobite Fossil
Trilobite fossil, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.
Trilobite Fossil (Phacops rana africana)
A fossilized Trilobite, Phacops rana africana, an extinct marine invertebrate. Item originally from Alnif, Morocco.